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Is climate change behind the storm that flooded parts of the UK?

(Image&colon; Reuters/Phil Noble)

WE’RE out of our depth. Climate change is implicated in the record-breaking rain that caused major flooding in the UK this week.

The army has been deployed to help rescue efforts and tens of thousands of homes were left without power as Storm Desmond battered Scotland and the north of England. More than 340 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours in the Lake District, breaking a record of 316.4 mm set in 2009.

It is difficult to draw a link with climate change because the UK climate has always been variable, says David Ramsbottom of HR Wallingford, a consultancy that advises the UK government on flood defences. “But the current wisdom is that storminess is increasing and therefore these types of events are likely to increase,” he says.

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“It is impossible to say that a particular flood event is or isn’t caused by climate change,” says Seth Westra at the University of Adelaide in Australia. “But climate change does appear to be making the heavy rainfall events that cause floods more frequent and intense, and so should be considered to be part of the story.”

Ramsbottom says the UK needs to improve its warning systems, and ensure new developments are flood resistant. Friends of the Earth says the government is failing to do so.

But even with bolstered defences, many people in flood-prone areas won’t be protected from extreme events, and some places will become uninhabitable, Ramsbottom says.

This article appeared in print under the headline “Climate link to UK floods”